A dairy product derived from milk that is produced in a wide range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein.
Cheese comprises proteins and fat from milk: the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep.
During the production of cheese, the milk is usually acidified, and adding the enzymes of rennet causes coagulation.
The solids are separated and pressed.
Some cheeses have molds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout.
Most cheeses melt at cooking temperature.
Over a thousand types of cheese exist.
Cheese styles, textures and flavors depend on the origin of the milk, including the animal’s diet, whether they have been pasteurized, the butterfat content, the bacteria and mold, the processing, and how long they have been aged for.
Herbs, spices, or wood smoke are be as flavoring agents.
The yellow to red color of many cheeses is related to the addition of annatto.
Other added ingredients to some cheeses include: black pepper, garlic, chives or cranberries.
With some cheeses, the milk is curdled by adding acids such as vinegar or lemon juice.
Most cheeses are acidified to a minor degree by bacteria, which turn milk sugars into lactic acid, then the addition of rennet completes the curdling.
Cheese has portability, long life, and high content of fat, protein, calcium, and phosphorus.
Cheese is more compact and has a longer shelf life than milk.
Hard cheeses, such as Parmesan, last longer than soft cheeses, such as Brie or goat’s milk cheese.
In 2014, world production of cheese from whole cow milk was 18.7 million tons, with the United States accounting for 29% of the world total followed by Germany, France and Italy as major producers.
In cheesemaking, separating the milk into solid curds and liquid whey is required, and is usually done by souring the milk and adding rennet.
Commonly starter bacteria are employed instead which convert milk sugars into lactic acid.
Some fresh cheeses are curdled only by acidity, but most cheeses use rennet.
Rennet sets the cheese into a gel compared to the fragile curds produced by acidic coagulation alone.
Rennet presently is produced recombinantly.
Salt added to cheese adds a salty flavor, preserves cheese from spoiling, draws moisture from the curd, and firms cheese’s texture in an interaction with its proteins.
The aging period lasts from a few days to several years, as microbes and enzymes transform texture and intensify of flavor.
With aging there is the breakdown of casein proteins and milkfat into a complex mix of amino acids, amines, and fatty acids.
Some cheeses have additional bacteria or molds introduced before or during aging: Brie and Camembert, blue cheeses such as Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola, and rind-washed cheeses such as Limburger.
It is suggested that cheeses be allowed to warm up to room temperature before eating.
Above room temperatures, most hard cheeses melt and rennet-curdled cheeses have a gel-like protein matrix that is broken down by heat.
With warming enough protein bonds are broken, and cheese itself turns from a solid to a viscous liquid.
Acid-set cheeses have a protein structure that remains intact at high temperatures.
Some cheeses tend to become stringy or suffer from a separation of their fats.
Vegans and other dairy-avoiding vegetarians do not eat conventional cheese.